blah.

DIETING SUCKS.

Just kill me now.  Or feed me.  That works too.

Special.

Saturday was a very special day for me.  It was something I had been working towards for a long time.  I went through the temple for the first time.  And it really was a very special day.  I am proud to belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (if anyone has questions or is wondering about my religion, please feel free to visit here).  :)
Thanks to all my family and friends who came out and supported me!  I think my loved ones took up most of the room.  Haha.  And then trying to fit about 30 people in our house was quite the accomplishment.  :)

Me and Mama before.

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple...it was a perfect day.

 All of my family at the temple afterwards.  Love these folks!

Later Saturday night, we went mini golfing.  Sure wish I had been doing that more this summer.  It was quite the adventure and I loved it.  And now for some pictures from the weekend...

Sista pants and me mini golfing.

The whole group! 

 Me and Cait before church on Sunday 

 Pretty sunset from last night

Official.

Well.  That's it.  I am officially half of a half century old.  And that is weird.  I am 25 years old.  Welp.  What can you do?

Now for my 25 before 25 list.  I am ashamed to say that I did not complete all of these.  And yes, I do know that some of them were unattainable, but others I just chickened out on.  Bahhhh I'm such a dummy.  I just need to work up my courage a little bit.  Well, here we go...

1. Sleep until noon
        Well, I tried.  But my body just won't let me sleep in.  It's just not fair.  I think the latest I slept in was 10:30.  Pathetic.
2. Run in a race
        FINISHED!  And have two more coming up.  Bahhhh I still hate running.
            Did my other two races.  And it was good.  I am trying to keep up my running, but I hate it.  But I still do it.
3. Pay off my car
        Technically, YES!  I no longer drive Walter.  I do pay for Lucy, but it is much cheaper.  :)
4. Jump off the high dive
        I was only at a pool with a diving board ONCE this summer.  Such a travesty.  And I wasn't even wearing my swim suit.  So I had zero opportunities for this one.
5. Kiss a total stranger
        Yeah.  I have no one to blame for this one but myself.  I just completely chickened out.  I probably could have done this every single day had I had the guts to do it.  But I WILL do it.
6. Give up Diet Coke
        Today is my first day being soda-free.  Yep.  No more soda at all, not just Diet Coke.
7. Teach myself to like avocados
        Still working on it...
8. Go skinny dipping (technically I have already done this, but it was more skinny run-into-the-water-and-run-back-out, so it needs to be on there again)
        Again...zero opportunities.
9. Save $500 dollars (apart from my regular savings) and go on a shopping spree
        I did save $500 apart from my regular savings.  But I'm not going on a shopping spree.  I am saving it to go on a vacation.  But I did go on a shopping spree after I sold Walter.  $300 worth.  It was lovely.
10. Participate in "Ellen's Dance Dare" and submit it to her show
        Again, I am ashamed to say I did not do this.  And there are no excuses for this.  Sad day.
11. See Garth Brooks in concert
        I hope this happens one day...
12. Go to a professional baseball game
         GO BRAVES!
13. Make a dress that I will love to wear
        I have only pulled out my sewing machine once in about 2 years.  I still want to do this.  A cute maxi dress.  So if any of you have a cute pattern, send it my way!
14. Go to a formal event that requires me to get really dressed up
        Yeah.  This didn't happen.  No opportunities.  Maybe as the holidays come...
15. Lose 20 more pounds
        I have not been on the scale for awhile, but I do know that I have lost some.  On my spending spree in July, I had to buy pants a size smaller.  I'm sure it wasn't 20 pounds, but it is still progress.
16. Visit a state I haven't been to before
         Colorado?  Check!  But I do want to visit more.
            I WENT TO TEXAS TOO!  I did.  On a business trip.  I didn't see much of Texas, but I was still there.  And it was bloody hot and humid.
17. Eat funnel cake at a fair
        Yep.  Did this too.  Delicious.
18. Go an entire day without eating one single piece of candy/sweets
        Yeah.  I failed.  I almost made it one day, and then I got called to go get sno-cones.  And how could I turn that down?  Again, I'll work on it.
19. Learn to waterski
        Never went to a lake... :(
20. Make 5 of the recipes I have pinned on Pinterest
        Check!  I'm a superb cook.
21. Go paragliding
         Coolest thing of my life.  So glad I did it.
22. Go on one date during every month of the summer (doesn't seem like a lot but I NEVER date)
        HA!!!!  Big fat failure.  There was one day that I had to cancel a blind date because I got off work late.  Gosh, I am the worst dater ever.
23. Make 10 blankets to donate to a children's hospital
        Yeah.  No excuses either.  I could say that I was just too busy.  And yes, I was busy.  But I could have done it.  I just didn't want to pay the money to buy the stuff.  I'm an awful person.
24. Learn to play a song on the guitar
        I kinda forgot about this one.  I was pretty gung-ho about it at the beginning, but it tapered off. Hmmm.
25. Be happy with my body and who I am - don't let other's opinion of me bring me down
        This is something that I have been working on for 25 years, and something that I will have to continuously.  But at this moment, I am happy with who I am.  Honestly and truly.  I have really grown as a person and I like it.

*Honorary goal: make a scene in a public place
        I chickened out here too.  My friends and I once thought about something we could do, but it never panned out.  Bummer.

Welp.  Looks like I am a BIG FAT FAILURE.  I think I will give myself to the end of the year to accomplish the rest of them.  Except the Garth concert.  That would be by miracle only.  I'm still praying for it...  :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Now validate me with comments.  :)

life. as i know it.

guys.  not too long ago, i played a lumberjack for the day.  and it was suuuuuper fun.  i wish i had put it on my 25 before 25 list.  i went up to my favorite mountains and chopped down trees for firewood.  i also got hit in the face by a tree.  ok.  i ran into a tree.  don't judge me.  sometimes it happens.

just lumberjacking deep in the mountains of idaho.  it was quite liberating to chop down dead trees.

and then i ran into a tree.  a live one.

speaking of 25...my birthday is in a week.  i turn 25.  and that is a weird.  i am half of half a century old.  is that a weird thought to anyone else but me?  i am proud of who i am and what i have accomplished, but there are a lot of times when i think i haven't done nearly enough in my life.  i wish that, by now, i would have had more experiences and done more things.  i want to experience MORE.  so that is my goal.  from this birthday on, i am going to have more experiences, do more things, be less afraid of those things that scare me.  i just want to do MORE.  so here i go.  you guys can hold me to it.  don't let me chicken out of anything.

as for my 25 before 25 list.  well, let's just say i had realllllly high hopes to get all of these done.  and i fell wayyyyy short.  i will do a full update next week, after the day comes.  but let's just say i have a week to cross off...ummm 13 or so things on my list.  oops.  :)

as for the other happenings in my life.  this has been a good summer.  i still love my job.  i went on a business trip to dallas a month ago.  that was definitely a new experience for me.  some really long days, but it was tons of fun.  i had never been to texas before.  humidity sucks.  i also never blogged about the dirty dash.  but just know - it was awesome.  i loved it.  and, in case you are wondering, i still hate running.  i had a small obsession with sno cones this summer.  i only went to get these delicious treats like...twice a week or something.  nothing too outrageous or anything.  i only got in a swimming pool once this whole summer.  that is a travesty.  but such is life when you work all day, every day.

i have some really good and exciting things coming up in my life, but i will just keep those to myself for now.  :)  ok.  now for a giant photo dump of summer pictures from my iphone.  in no particular order.

demolition derby night with the sissy pants and d-nile.

yep.  finally got the F*R*I*E*N*D*S complete series.  my life is so much happier now.

love this princess girl.

does that not look like the most perfect sno cone?  it was.  

my purchases from the other night.  this basically describes my life.

mama, sissy pants, and me getting pedicures.  good day.

one day this summer, i went on a bit of a shopping spree.  and it was so worth the money i spent.

oh fall.  the leaves are changing.  i love this time of year.

our business trip in dallas.  so much fun.

hi mommy!

lbd.  perfect.

lost my toenails after running my race.  embarrassing.

i really love this picture.

the happiest outfit of the summer.

yay life.  ok.  peace and love, y'all.

Peeved.

Today has been a day.  EVERYTHING is bothering me.  The sound of certain people's voices today is just driving me absolutely up the wall.  So today, I will be making a list of my pet peeves.  And the list is long.  And I don't feel bad about it.

• When people ask the same question over and over again.  Listen to the answer the first time!
• Drivers who try to get all the way to the front of an ending lane, then want to cut over in front of the drivers who have waited in line.  It's especially annoying when there are signs for 2 miles that the lane will be ending.
• Losing a new chapstick or lipgloss.
• Flimsy silverware.  I hate forks that bend!
• When people put the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way.
• Driving 5 miles under the speed limit.
• People who drive the speed limit in the fast lane.
• When my cell phone freaks out and freezes on me.
• Waking up to the alarm in the middle a good dream.
• When my favorite pair of clothing gets too worn out to wear.
• Filling up my car with gas.  
• Losing.  At anything.
• Wearing real shoes when it is hot outside.  Summer should be for sandals and flip flops.
• When someone younger than me calls me "hon" or "sweetie".  Really, sweetie?  You're a 17 year old high school senior.  Wait until you get a   
• People who order 1642312374654 menus off a drive-thru menu.  GO INSIDE.  You will make a person who orders one, simple frozen hot chocolate late for work because you need to feed every person you know.
• Having my hair look awesome for the first 10 minutes after I do it, and then failing me 30 minutes after I get to work.
• When a 27 year old guy wants to date a 19 year old girl.  Makes things realllllly difficult for me as I get older.  Not that is was that easy for me to begin with...
• When an episode of a show I watch and have missed is not online.  How am I supposed to catch up on my shows????
• Not being able to sleep in when that is all I really want to do.
• Ending a book series.
• Working really hard to lose weight and not seeing the results I neeeeeeeed.
• The fact that I have not been to Disneyland in over 4 years.  A piece of my soul dies every time someone I know goes and I am stuck here in Utah.

That is all for now.  I don't you all to think I am just some big whiner...  Someone get me on a vacation nowwwwwww.  :)

Farewell

Recently, I said goodbye to a dear friend of mine...Walter.  Walter has been faithful to me over the last (almost) 5 years.  When I first met Walter, I wasn't really sure I wanted him in my life.  But he proved loyal to me, and I really grew to love him.  But a few months ago, I felt like it was time to move our separate ways.  Walter was just a little boring and I needed a little spice in my life.  I tried for awhile to find Walter a new, loving home but to no avail.  Finally, I knew it was that time to just cut our ties.  So I said goodbye and hope for the best for him.

Bye Walter!

After Walter's departure, I made a new friend - Lucy.  Lucy is reallllllly pretty.  And she goes really fast.  Do I sound like I have small crush on Lucy?  Well I do a little bit.  And I'm not ashamed about it.  I'm making a few small changes to her, but she is mostly pretty perfect.  And I loooooooooove her.  I love Lucy..cliche much?  Oh well.

Pretty Lucy!

On a more serious note, recently I really did lose a good friend of mine.  I'm not really sure what happened either...she just kinda stopped talking to me.  It was very hurtful to me.  I went from talking to this person every single day, laughing, hanging out and having fun to nothing.  And it was almost instant that it happened, like someone just flipped a switch on our friendship.  I have felt so confused over the last two months.  I have tried to mediate the situation, but it just didn't work the way I wanted it to.  And now she is moving out of Utah and I don't think we'll ever be friends again. It makes me sad, but I know that there is nothing else that I can really do at this point.

One of the hardest things about it is that I feel like I have failed.  I have always prided myself on being a good friend - knowing what that person needs and how to make them feel better, being there for them through whatever.  And I know that I have failed her.  I wasn't the friend that she needed me to be...I let her down.  I'm not really sure how that happened either, but that is something I am going to have to work on.

I am now on the hunt for some new friends.  Not that I am getting rid of my current friends, I just need to expand my circle.  I have been feeling like this for awhile.  I just want to meet new people that can introduce me to more people and so on.  I am really looking for a new bestie.  I have a lot of people I consider best friends, but I need that one person who is just my...bestie.  That's is the right word for it.  The person who I can laugh and have fun with, where our conversations go "What are we doing tonight" and not "Do you want to do something tonight".  I'm not even just looking for one person.  That group of friends where you just know you are going to hang out and have fun and be able to talk and laugh and do stupid things without being judged.  Am I too old for that?  Sometimes I wonder.

Enough with my sob story.  I'm just going to go look at how pretty Lucy is some more...

Lessons Learned: A few teachings from my virtually non-existent dating life.

It's no secret that I'm not a huge dater.  I've talked about it a little bit before, but let me tell you a secret that you probably didn't know - I have only been on one date in about the last 2 years.  Embarrassing, right?  

I have signed up, yet again, with an online dating service, hoping for better results (don't worry...it is not the same site as mentioned in the previous post).  I have hope that maybe one day I will have some better results.  I know people who have met their spouses from online dating.  In fact, my visiting teacher is engaged to someone she met online.  So I know it works.  And I'm hoping that one day it works for me.

The problem is...guys just don't want to date me.  I seem to have that same problem everywhere I go...whether it is through the internet or in person.  I have tried to figure out the reasoning behind it - I put off a man-hating vibe, I'm too tall, I'm too heavy, guys don't like the insane amount of sarcasm that just seems to flow out of my mouth, men are distracted by my intensely overpowering beauty.  I don't know.  I try not to think about it too much, because the truth of the matter is - I like myself.  I really do.  It took me a loooooooong time to get to this place, but I am happy with who I am and what I have accomplished in my life.

I'm really at a point in my life where I just want to date.  Do I want to get married?  Absolutely.  But am I ready for it or am I looking for it?  I don't really think so right now.  I'm just looking to find out the things I want in a future man, and possibly make some friends along the way.  Is that really too much to ask?  I recently read a hilarious book (a silly romance novel, don't judge) that documented one girl's experiences with online dating.  And I loved it.  So I am going to try not to be so picky, while still being a little bit selective, and go out with more guys.  Usually, I just get nervous and freak out over small things but I'm going to work past that and just focus on having fun.

Now here is where you, my dear, lovely, beautiful, funny, amazing (am I laying it on too thick?), blog readers come in.  If you know any single men who want to hang out with an outgoing and funny (yeah, I'll say it.  I'm funny) girl, send them my direction.  I promise I will try not to scare them away too quickly.

And now for the moment you have all been waiting for...a few things I have learned from my experiences with dating.  I don't know how many of my blog readers are male (hey Bryce!), but you ladies are free to pass these words of "wisdom" on.

*Don't give a girl the "chicken wing", especially if you are going to do it every two minutes.

          The "chicken wing", as I have so affectionately named it, is when someone sticks their elbow out to nudge you, usually accompanied with a nod and an "ehhh", while trying to impress you or get your affirmation for something.  It has been dubbed the chicken wing, because it frequently makes the person look like a downed chicken, flailing its wings about while trying to take flight.  I once had a guy do this to me about every 30 seconds during a movie.  I left that date with a bruise the size of Texas.

*Don't stick your fingers in your mouth after eating, in an attempt to get food off of them.

          Seriously.  That's what napkins are for.  And soap and water.

*Please say more than 4 words while on a date.

          Especially if it is the type of date where interaction is required, as to not make things awkward.  Example: when taking a date to the midnight drags at RMR, it would be a helpful tool to talk to the girl, especially since the activity is probably not something she is interested in.

*Never ever ever ever ever run your tongue all over your date's face while kissing.

          This one doesn't need much explanation.  All I can say is GROSS.

*Don't ever send a girl naked pictures of you.

          Again, no explanation needed.

*Don't act too shy to speak during dinner, and then try to make the moves during a movie.

          Is this one of those "put the girl down first, then she will love you when you bring her back up" kind of things?  Doesn't work so well.

In case any of you are wondering...yes, all of these experiences are my own.  I attract the best, don't I?

Now validate me with your comments!  Please and thank you.  :)